Gem and setting having means for obscuring flaws in the gem or setting



3,075,367 ANS FOR OBSCURING Jan. 29, 1963 M. GOODMAN GEM AND SETTI G FLAWS ETTING F o N HAVING ME] IN THE GEM O iled June 17,

Fig. 4.

Fig. 3.

m R Y mm w m R V w 0 m n 5 A R R o M M Y B 3,075,367 GEM AND SETTENG HAVING MEANS FOR B- SlIURlNG FLAWS IN THE GEM 0R SETTING Morris Goodman, 39 W. Court St., Indianapolis, Ind. Filed June 17, 196%, Ser. No. 1%,?20 1 Claim. (Cl. 63-26) The present invention relates to a jewelry setting, and is particularly concerned with the improvement of settings for transparent gems.

Such gems, in relatively large sizes, are used in many kinds of jewelry including, among others, mens rings, cuff links, tie clasps as well as bracelets and necklaces for ladies. it has been the general practice to mount such a gem in an open setting comprising a continuous or interrupted perimetral frame means gripping the gem perimetrally but leaving both its front face and its rear face exposed.

There has been increasing popularity for pieces in which such a gem is mounted in a closed setting comprising a pan-like body having a plane floor substantially parallel with one major surface of the gem, with upstanding bezel means which may or may not be perimetrally continuous. In the manufacture of such settin-gs, however, tool marks, casting marks or other jewelry or soldering defects frequently appear on the surface of such floor. When such pieces are set with opaque stones these defects are of no concern; but when they are set with facet or fiat or buifback transparent gems such as amethyst, topaz, rubies or other genuine or synthetic stones or crystals, these defects are plainly visible and mar the beauty of the jewelry piece.

Furthermore, in a conventional closed setting, such a gem loses some or its brilliance and in many instances internal ilaws within the gem are objectionably apparent against the background of the plane floor.

I have found that, it the gem-supporting floor of the setting is so formed as to be substantially wholly defined by a series of closely-contiguous ridges separated by grooves of substantially uniform depth, not only is the apparent brilliance of the gem increased but also the presence of the above-mentioned flaws on the setting floor or in the gem itself is very substantially, if not wholly, obscured.

Thus, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a jewelry setting for such a gem, the setting being of such novel construction, in accordance with the above discovery, as to obscure the presence of flaws in the setting or in the gem, and to improve the brilliance of the mounted gem.

To the accomplishment of the above and related ob jects my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claim is not violated.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a ring embodying a setting constructed in accordance with the present invention with a flawed gem mounted therein;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same ring provided, however, with a conventional closed setting having ran dom imperfections, and with the some gem mounted therein;

FIG. 3 is a similar view of the ring of PEG. 1 with the gem removed; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows, the optimum dimensions of the ridges being somewhat exaggerated.

Patented Jan. 29, 19-553 The gem 10 may be any kind of precious or semiprecious stone, crystal or synthetic crystal which is trans parent; and will preferably have a plane bottom or reverse face. According to previous practice, a closed setting 11 for such a gem is formed with a plane floor against which the plane surface of the gem is seated and suitably secured. As is clearly to be seen in PEG. 2, random tool or die marks or other imperfections in the setting floor, as indicated at 9, are seen through the transparent gem with objectionable prominence; and any flaw in the gem, such as that illustrated at 12 in considerably exaggerated size, is also very noticeable against the plane surface of the setting floor. Also, it is found that the gem has a relatively dull appearance in such a setting.

According to the present invention, the setting 13 is formed to provide a floor 14 surrounded by an upstanding bezel means 15 which may or may not be perimetral- 1y continuous, but which is shown to be continuous in the present drawings. The entire upper face of the floor 14 is defined by a series of closely contiguous ridges 16 separated by grooves 17, and the lower face of the gem is so disposed that it directly overlies said floor 14 closely adjacent or in contact with the crests of the ridges :16. The gem and the setting, of course, are so relatively proportioned and contoured that the perimeter of the gem is firmly gripped within the bezel means 15, whereby the gem is secured in place in the setting.

Preferably, the ridges 16 will be substantially uniformly spaced from each other and the depth of the grooves 17 will be substantially uniform. In the optimum form of my invention, I presently believe that the ridges 16 should be arranged to radiate substantially uniform from a point 13 substantially at the geometrical center of the floor 14, in the manner shown in the drawings. As is clearly shown in FIG. 4, each ridge is defined by angularly-related, flat sides meeting in a sharp edge or crest; and, as is shown in FIG. 3, the base of each ridge widens or flares from the center of the door toward the perimeter thereof.

'It is found that, when a transparent gem 10 is mounted in the setting 13, it has a greater brilliance of appearance than when the same gem is mounted in a setting 11; and it is further found that the alternating ridges 16 and grooves 17 completely hide any slight imperfections in the setting floor; while a fiaw, such as that indicated at 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2, is much less noticeable when the gem is mounted in the setting 13 than when the same gem is mounted in a setting 11 of the prior art.

If desired, and as shown in the drawings, a tube plate 19 carrying either a gem 20 or an emblem or symbol, may be inset into the gem it), further to enhance the beauty of the entire piece. When such an inset is used, the ridges 16 and grooves 17 may terminate short of the center of the floor as shown in FIG. 3; but when no such inset is used, said grooves and ridges will prefer-ably continue to meet in a common point.

The ridges 15 and grooves 17 may be formed in any desired manner such as, for instance, by engraving, by etching or by pressing or by forging; but I presently believe that they may most advantageously be formed by means of corresponding grooves and ridges in the die or mold in which the setting is normally cast.

I claim as my invention:

A jewelry piece comprising a cast body having a floor including an upper face and upstanding bezel means perimetrally surrounding said floor and extending to a level above said upper face, substantially the entire area of said upper face of said floor being defined by a series of closely-contiguous, sharp-crested, fiat-sided ridges integrally molded in said face during the casting operaigwaeerz tion and radiating substantially uniformly from a point near the geometrical center of said floor, the bases of said ridges flaring from said point toward the perimeter of said floor, and a transparent gem snugly fitting Within said bezel means, said gem haying a substantially plane surface directly overlying substantially the entire area of said upper face of said floor and presented toward said upper face of said floor Closely adjacent the crests of said ridges, whereby flaws in said upper face incident to the casting thereof are obscured.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bager Jan. 2, 1934 Witte Sept. 4, 1934 Haitom May 25, 1937 Strotlun-an Aug. 17, 1937 Tiger Dec. 5, 1939 Simmons Feb. 17, 1942 Mukai June 13, 1950 Moyd Dec. 26, 1950 

